Local nurse recalls trip to Puerto Rico

Wednesday

Oct 25, 2017 at 3:48 PMOct 26, 2017 at 8:10 AM

Heather Bartels became a nurse because she loves helping people.

So joining the relief effort in Puerto Rico was almost a no-brainer for her.

Bartels, who lives in Thomasville, works under the Veteran Health Administration and is part of the department's Disaster Emergency Medical Personnel Service. That service is the administration's main deployment program.

She, along with several other volunteers, spent two weeks in Puerto Rico setting up a federal medical station and treating patients.

Bartels said she flew into San Juan, Puerto Rico's capital, and then traveled to Manati, where the field hospital was later constructed.

"My friend is from Puerto Rico, and he said it's usually a very pretty city, but you could just see the destruction," Bartels said. "Like palm trees uprooted, electric wires on the road. Even just driving from San Juan to Manati, it was like 38 miles and you could see a couple of bridges on the side roads that were gone. Huge trees uprooted — the roots were bigger than the bus."

A month ago, Puerto Rico was ravaged by Hurricane Maria, which brought wind speeds of more than 150 mph. As of Wednesday, the death toll has risen to 51. Many parts of the island are still without electricity.

Bartels said the Disaster Emergency Medical Personnel Service, along with Disaster Medical Assistance Teams, set up a field hospital at Coliseo Juan Aubin Cruz in the Acropolis De Manati Sports Complex. The station included more than 150 beds.

The VA nurse said it was difficult to spread information about the hospital because of the lack of electricity. Some people went to churches and stores such as Walgreens to tell people about the hospital.

"They were announcing on the radios, but if you didn't have radios or batteries — we didn't have cell service and it's not like we could do Facebook," Bartels said.

The hospital received over 200 emergency room patients per day, according to Bartels. This included medicine refills, broken bones, heart attacks, burns, respiratory distress and lacerations, among other injuries. She noted that the hospital even delivered a baby a few days ago. Bartels worked the night shift. The work demanded 14- to 16-hour work days on their feet.

Bartels said the hospital had generators, but no air conditioning or a reliable water system. The doctors couldn't do CAT scans or X-rays, but did have ultrasound equipment.

The nurse added that several patients were discharged from the hospital, but didn't have homes.

"We had a guy who was a bilateral amputee who was discharged from the hospital, but he didn't have a house anymore, which is a pretty common story," Bartels said.

Bartels said some United States Army personnel went to local communities and nursing homes to bring patients to the hospital. She recalled that one local hospital lost its last generator, so it had to bring several patients to the field hospital.

"It makes me appreciate everything I have," Bartels said. "This one gentleman, he was with us but he didn't know about his family because he couldn't get hold of anybody. So even stories like that — they can't find their family. Even if they are part of the island, they can't get to them, and they can't talk to them. They don't know if they are alive or dead."

The nurse said she would have stayed longer, but the volunteers are scheduled on a two-week deployment rotation.

Bartels said it was difficult leaving her two children, but she did keep a journal to note everything she experienced and the people she met.

Though it was an exhausting trip, Bartels said she will always remember it as a rewarding experience.

"By the time we left, we were able to take care of the patients," Bartels said. "We were like a team — a family. We lived together, slept together, ate together and showered together for the last two weeks.

"... I'd go down there in a heartbeat tomorrow."

Ben Coley can be reached at (336) 249-3981, ext. 227 or at ben.coley@the-dispatch.com. Follow Ben on Twitter: @LexDispatchBC

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